Today, Blizzard Entertainment, a company under the umbrella of Activision Blizzard announced the third expansion to the massive success MMORPG to date – World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.
Follow up:
While the attention of the Horde and Alliance remained fixed upon Northrend, an ancient evil has been lying dormant within Deepholm, the domain of earth in the Elemental Plane. Hidden away in a secluded sanctuary, the corrupted Dragon Aspect Deathwing has waited, recovering from the wounds of his last battle against Azeroth, nursing his hatred for the inferior creatures that infest the surface realm…and biding his time until he can reforge the world in molten fire.
Soon, Deathwing the Destroyer will return to Azeroth, and his eruption from Deepholm will sunder the world, leaving a festering wound across the continents. As the Horde and Alliance race to the epicenter of the cataclysm, the kingdoms of Azeroth will witness seismic shifts in power, the kindling of a war of the elements, and the emergence of unlikely heroes who will rise up to protect their scarred and broken world from utter devastation.
The face of Azeroth is altered forever as the destruction left in Deathwing’s wake reshapes the land and reveals secrets long sealed away. Players will be able to re-experience familiar zones across Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms, rewrought by the cataclysm and filled with new opportunities for adventure.
Here are some quick information about Cataclysm:
- Level Cap: 85
- New Alliance Race: Worgen
- Death Knight
- Druid
- Hunter
- Mage
- Priest
- Rogue
- Warlock
- Warrior
- New Horde Race: Goblin
- Death Knight
- Hunter
- Mage
- Priest
- Rogue
- Shaman
- Warlock
- Warrior
- Dragon Aspect focus: Deathwing
- Flying Mounts on Azeroth
- New Secondary Profession: Archaeology
- Azeroth will be devastated
- Gilneas will be opened – home of the cursed Worgen (Alliance)
- Isle of Kezan, home of the resourceful Goblins (Horde)
- Seven New Zones (High-Quality Cataclysm Map)
- Forever-Sunken City of Vashj’ir, resting in ruin by the Abyssal Maw Vortex
- Elemental Plane of Earth, Deephome
- Uldum
- The Lost Isles – starting zone for Goblins (Horde) (note: Goblins will start on the Isle of Kezan then head to the Lost Isles)
- Gilneas – starting zone for Worgen (Alliance)
- Mount Hyjal
- Twilight Highlands
- Guild Leveling System – Guild Experience, Guild Talent Points, and Guild Achievements (note: a precursor to Guild Halls??)
- All Races will gain new Classes not available to them before:
- Gnome Priests
- Tauren Paladins (note: read the backgrounder here, first and third paragraphs)
- Tauren Priests
- Troll Druids
- Blood Elf Warriors
- Night Elf Mages (note: read the backgrounder here)
- Human Hunters
- Dwarf Mages
- Dwarf Shamans
- Orc Mages
- Undead Hunters
- Path of the Titans system – allows for greater character customization. (note: You need the new secondary profession Archaeology here.)
- Mastery system, let me quote Blizzard here:
- New Dungeon and Raid Content than Ever Before
- The Firelands
- Abyssal Maw
- Blackrock Caverns
- Grim Batol
- Skywall
- and many more
- Heroic Versions of:
- Deadmines
- Shadowfang Keep
- and many more
- Rated Battlegrounds and New PvP Feats
- New Arenas
- New Battleground – “the Battle for Gilneas”
- New PvP Zone – “Tol Barad”
- Rated Team Play
- Old Quests Updated to Reflect the Devastated Azeroth Landscape
- And hundred of new quests for the new Devastated Azeroth Landscape
We plan to explore and re-examine the talent system for every class in order to provide players with more fun and flavorful choices without wasting points on all of the “must have” abilities. To do this we’re introducing the Mastery system, through which players will gain unique passive abilities and stat increases based on the talent choices made.
Questions, questions, and answers:
- Darkshore is flooded
- The Barrens have been split in two:
- One-half is for low-level players
- The other half is for high-level players
- Azshara is now a low-level zone for Horde players and connects directly to Orgrimmar
- Southshore has been lost to the Horde. “Nobody was defending it.”
- “Turns out the maps in Azeroth were wrong, there isn’t a coast down under Tanaris. There’s a zone! If only someone had looked…”
- Scythe of Elune. “Are the Worgen from somewhere else? …or someWHEN else?”
- The Cataclysm will occur for ALL players. So play, record, screenshot, the old content now while you can!
- Extensive use of Phasing Technology, including terrain.
Old Azeroth Map is Outdated from the Official Website. A photo of the New Azeroth Map here, from BlizzCon 2009.
More screenshots here: Official WoW:Cataclysm Screenshot page
Official Website: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Other reads:
Racials: WoW: Cataclysm Hands-On Details
Press Release: WORLD OF WARCRAFT®: CATACLYSM™ UNVEILED
Sources:
BlizzCon 2009: World of Warcraft Preview Panel liveblog
Official FAQ